Rajiv Shah

Dr. Rajiv Shah led the efforts of nearly 10,000 staff in more than 70 countries around the world to advance USAID’s mission of ending extreme poverty and promoting resilient, democratic societies.

Under Dr. Shah’s leadership, USAID applied innovative technologies and engaged the private sector to solve the world’s most intractable development challenges. This new model of development brings together an increasingly diverse community—from large companies to local civil society groups to communities of faith—to deliver meaningful results.

Dr. Shah also managed the U.S. Government’s humanitarian response to catastrophic crises around the world, from the devastating 2010 Haiti earthquake to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa.

Through an extensive set of reforms called “USAID Forward,” Dr. Shah worked with the United States Congress to transform USAID into the world’s premier development Agency that prioritizes public-private partnerships, innovation, and meaningful results. He currently serves on the boards of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the Millennium Challenge Corporation, as well as participates on the National Security Council.

Previously, Dr. Shah served as Undersecretary and Chief Scientist in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where he created the National Institute for Food and Agriculture. Prior to joining the Obama Administration, he spent eight years at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where he led efforts in global health, agriculture, and financial services, including the creation of the International Finance Facility for Immunization.

He is a graduate of the University of Michigan, the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, and the Wharton School of Business. He regularly appears in the media and has delivered keynote addresses before the U.S. Military Academy, the National Prayer Breakfast, and diverse audiences across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Dr. Shah was awarded the Distinguished Service Award by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He has served as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, been named to Fortune’s 40 Under 40, and has received multiple honorary degrees.

He lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife Shivam Mallick Shah and three children and has given up mountain climbing for family bicycle rides.

Good morning. It is a pleasure to be here today as we celebrate and welcome the partnership between the Young African Leadership Initiative and Kenya Commercial Bank. Today, through this pledge of support to the YALI Regional Leadership Center East Africa, KCB is investing in the next generation of young leaders. And in doing so, KCB is committing to not only the future of Kenya, but to all 14 of the countries our fellows hail from in East and Central Africa and, certainly, the entire continent.

We are here to inaugurate the use of the power systems modeling tool PLEXOS, by Energy Exemplar, under our joint Clean Energy Program: the Partnership to Advance Clean Energy – Deployment – PACE-D. Power systems modeling is a core element of the newest addition to PACE-D called Greening the Grid, which focuses on large-scale integration of renewable energy.

It is encouraging to see India's large and vibrant private sector focusing on new approaches to improve social and development outcomes, working together with the public sector in order to be more effective. This is especially important because the private sector can provide critical insights on market dynamics and new opportunities while the publc sector has a mandate to make these improvements sustainable and extend them even further.

At USAID, we believe that every mother and child should be given the opportunity to survive and grow. Ending preventable child and maternal deaths means, first, giving children a healthy start by providing pregnant mothers with quality antenatal care and nutrition during pregnancy.

First, I would like to recognize his Excellency CEO Dr. Abdullah, the Minister of Women’s Affairs, the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Dr. Sima Samar, Dr. Sorabi and other distinguished guests who are here with us today. The U.S. government is extremely proud to be partnering with you and with the Afghan Government on Musharikat, on Promote and on women's issues, more generally.

The United States Government has been pleased to intensify its efforts with the Government and people of Zambia to increase energy generation and access through clean, renewable energy. We believe the Industrial Development Corporation, or IDC/IFC Scaling Solar program offers an excellent example, and one we have been pleased to support under Power Africa. U.S. President Obama announced the Power Africa initiative in 2013.

<p>Good morning,&nbsp;I am honored to be here today representing the United States Agency for International Development, better known as USAID. I bring you greetings from the United States Ambassador to Zambia, Mr. Eric Schultz.&nbsp;I am delighted to join the Minister of Gender, Honorable Professor Nkandu Luo, all other ministers and members of parliament at this timely event to encourage a cohesive national response to prevent Gender-Based Violence and Child Marriage.&nbsp; We see this as an important forum for sharing ideas about how we can most effectively work together and leverage our unique roles in meeting this common goal.</p>

Cabinet Secretary Dr. Mailu, Director of Medical Services Dr. Kioko, National Malaria Control Program Head Dr. Waqo, WHO Representative Dr. Mandhlate, Ladies and gentlemen, Good morning! It is my pleasure to join you all to observe World Malaria Day. Why do we commemorate World Malaria Day together every year? The answer is simple: malaria remains a serious threat to people’s health. Globally, malaria kills a child every two minutes. In Kenya, 70 percent of the population is at risk. Today we renew our resolve to eliminate this disease.

If we bring together the knowledge of the development and humanitarian communities, I know we can find the solutions needed to transform the way we respond to crises. But for this community to continue to respond like you have to disaster after disaster and crisis after crisis, the whole world is going to have to step up. We have to expand the resources available to meet the high level of need, understanding that any contribution, no matter how small, is needed and impactful. Humanitarian response is a burden shared by all of humanity, and the way we finance it should reflect that.

The Millennium Alliance has grown from three founding partners in 2012 - FICCI, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department of Science and Technology - to now having eight partners including UKAID, ICCO Cooperation, ICICI Foundation, Wadhwani Initiative for Sustainable Health (WISH) Foundation and the World Bank. It has been an impressive journey and we are proud to have all of you as part of the alliance.

What began as a seven million dollar initiative is now a 25 million dollar and growing partnership that is supporting nearly 62 innovators through seed funding and capacity building services, as well as an additional 100 innovators with networking and advisory assistance. We are leveraging the best of our partner institutions and the best of private Indian philanthropy to develop solutions to tough challenges, making our joint assistance more efficient and effective. The alliance has proved that when we work together, we’re a powerful force for change.